


Protecting You

by wonderlandiscrumbling



Series: A Friend in Need [4]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Cuddling, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 20:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16354130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderlandiscrumbling/pseuds/wonderlandiscrumbling
Summary: Oswald's nights consist heavily of spending his evenings and some of his nights at Lee's apartment keeping her company and the more than occasional support she needs after her losses. The time grows difficult as he finds himself falling for his friend.





	Protecting You

The movie had ended about a minute ago, credits rolling along the screen white against a black background offering very little light to the mostly darkened apartment living room. He could feel her warm breath against the side of his neck, her hand resting on his knee, she nuzzled against him groaning in her sleep. He chanced taking hold of her hand, stroking his fingers against soft warm skin. He knew it was late, the last time he’d checked his watch it had been nearly midnight, he knew it was probably one or close to it now. He knew perhaps he should wake Lee up, tell her that he needed to leave; he had a mansion to get back to, a mansion with several floors, and long halls full of terrible memories.

He settled back against the couch deciding it possibly wouldn’t hurt to just stay a little while longer. He glanced own at her, he felt his heart skip a beat as he looked at her. That had been happening a lot lately and there were many things in that that terrified him. He reached up gently stroking his fingers through her shoulder length hair that he noted curled at the ends, he twirled a strand around his finger liking how soft it felt. Lee began to shift, eyes opening, she looked up at him with sleepy brown eyes, and he immediately placed his hand back in his lap feeling embarrassed. A small smile tugged at her lips as she pulled away from him and began stretching.

“I thought maybe you would have left, how long was I drooling on your shoulder?” She asked looking over at him.

“Ju-just maybe an hour or so, no drooling though. I just didn’t want to disturb you.” 

There was something about her that left him a stammering mess, made him blush causing his freckles to show more than they already did. He felt ashamed of himself for feeling this way towards her, he’d been visiting her for several months now, offering her comfort, advice, and support. He felt guilty having feelings towards her, but she was the first person he could talk to about his father’s death and his mother’s as well. She was the only one who told him she was sorry for his loss, he knew she meant that when she had said it.

“That was very sweet of you.” She spoke softly.

“It’s nothing I just….I should probably go now though, you have work in the morning, and I probably shouldn’t just hang around here keeping you from getting sleep.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder giving a gentle almost reassuring squeeze. “You can spend the night if you want, I really don’t mind. You’ve already been here all night anyways, might as well finish it.” She suggested.

He felt an impulse to ask her why, but bit back on that one. She was nice, she was a friend, there was no malicious reasoning behind her kind offers.

“O-okay I can, I can sleep on the couch then.” 

She rolled her eyes at that comment before getting up from the couch, she held out her hand to him and he looked at her in confusion.

“The couch isn’t comfortable, I’ve noticed the way you walk and sleeping on this couch would be Hell on your back and leg.” 

He continued looking at her as if not comprehending what she was getting at.

“You can sleep in my bed, I don’t mind sharing it has more than enough space for two people.” 

He blushed, felt his heart hammering in his chest, and once more felt like a moron. Still he took hold of her hand allowing her to help him up from the couch, she continued to hold onto his hand as she lead him through the living room and down the short hall that lead back to her bedroom. He realized as they walked through her apartment that he had the layout nearly memorized, he’d spent so many evenings here and the occasional mornings just to make her breakfast and make sure she was fine.

There was something odd about being in her bedroom with the intent to share a bed with her. He watched her as she walked over to the dresser opening the second drawer searching through it for clothes to wear for the night. He felt awkward and out of place occasionally glancing at the large bed with its crimson red comforter and obviously home made quilt folded up at the foot of the bed. 

He jumped when she placed a hand on his shoulder, she laughed at his reaction, and he found he had no urge to glare or get mad at her for laughing at him. He simply looked at her.

“I’m going to go change, you’re free to get comfortable if you want.” She said before passing by him to go to the bathroom and change.

Once he was alone he took the time to look around her bedroom, he’d seen it a dozen times before, but now it felt different. He felt nervous at the idea of sharing a bed with her, he wanted to say he didn’t know why, but he knew why.

Oswald shrugged out of his jacket, he laid it down on the foot of the bed then went on to remove his tie and his vest. He hesitated before unbuttoning his white dress shirt leaving himself in a black tank top. He was more hesitant to remove his pants, he thought about the state of his leg; the horrific burns that scarred the skin from the knee down to his toes, and the mangled state of his knee itself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, she never judged him, not really; why would she judge now?

By the time he was out of his black slacks Lee re-entered the room. His cheeks flushed as he looked at her in her over sized university t-shirt, he looked away from her feeling embarrassed for staring. He pulled back the comforter and sheet and carefully got into bed wincing at the pain in his leg. He looked up once he was in bed to see her watching him, he had a difficult time reading her stare, and he hated that.

“I think this is the least I’ve seen you wear.” 

“It’s weird, I normally don’t even sleep in so little unless I have to.”

She moved over to the bed getting onto it, she knelt by his side her eyes wandering over the length of his body. He shifted uncomfortably when she looked at his leg.

“What happened?” She asked.

“I don’t remember, I was a little kid when it happened though.” He said his voice soft, he truly didn’t remember much but flashes of being in the ER and his mother crying.

“Is it okay if I touch it?”

“I-if you really want to.” 

He could feel his heart pounding, a heavy anxiety nearly choking him when she reached out cautiously touching her fingertips to his leg. She pressed a bit more firmly and he could just faintly feel the warm pressure of her touch, he let out a shaky sigh closing his eyes. He clenched his jaw fighting back the urge to cry, hating himself for being so emotional over something he’d been living with for most of his life. 

“I’m sorry.” 

He opened his eyes looking at her, she looked sad, he wasn’t sure if she was sorry for touching his leg or if she was sorry for a trauma that happened many years ago.

“It’s okay….I suppose it’s fitting my leg looks so terrible, matches the rest of me.” 

She reached up placing a hand against his cheek her fingers brushing against his skin. “You’re very handsome, I’m sorry about what happened to your leg, I know it has to be painful.”

He felt rather dumbstruck as he stared at her, wanted to tell her she was wrong, that he wasn’t even remotely handsome. 

“Why are you so nice to me?”

She shrugged looking away for a moment. “You sacrificed a lot for me and Jim, you didn’t have to do that. Plus even after everything you’re the one person who went out of their way to come check on me, nobody else did that.” She laughed bitterly, “actually even at work none of them bring up the breakup or the baby or anything. They avoid me unless they absolutely have to come to me about something work related.”

“What about Jim, has he talked to you?”

“Sometimes, it’s always awkward like he doesn’t know how to talk to me let alone look at me….Sometimes I just want to hit him and scream at him for everything, I kind of hate him, but I….” She trailed off.

“Still love him?” 

She nodded. “It’s stupid, I know.”

“It’s not, we can’t help who we love.” 

“I suppose you’re right, but I don’t have any plans on forgiving him any time soon, and I know I don’t want to be with him again….It’s just too painful.” 

He understood. He had his own mixed feelings about all of this, about how Jim could just leave her like that then refuse to talk to her about what happened between them. He wondered if Jim knew that he and Lee were friends, he felt that he’d be pissed if he knew about their friendship, would probably warn her away from socializing with people like him. He wasn’t a good man, she shouldn’t be friends with him, letting him stay in her bed with her.

Lee leaned in pressing a kiss against his cheek catching him off guard. She moved to crawl under the sheets pulling them up over herself, she looked up at him biting her bottom lip. “Would you mind holding me?” 

He shook his head, he felt moronic for not being capable of speaking, of just telling her that he wanted to hold her. He wanted to tell her many things, but he was terrified of the consequences of those three words. 

He laid down on his side, wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her body against him. He closed his eyes sighing as she buried her face against his chest. She felt warm and alive, she smelled like wine and vanilla, and he loved the feeling of her warm breath against his chest and the occasional brush of her lips against his skin. He held her while she fell asleep in his arms, kept her close feeling like no matter what he wanted to protect her.


End file.
